Starring: - Anthony Newley
- Stratford Johns
- Tom Watt
Description:
Scrooge was designed as a follow-up to 1968's Oliver, the Oscar-winning musicalization of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. The umpteenth musical version of Dickens' 1843 novelette A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is blessed with several sprightly Leslie Bricusse songs, including the bonafide hit Thank You Very Much. Once more buried under mounds of latex, Albert Finney is perfection itself as Ebeneezer Scrooge, proving as effective as a young (un-made up) man as the old skinflint we've grown to love. The Three Ghosts who turn the miserly Scrooge's life around on Christmas Eve are portrayed by Edith Evans (Past), Kenneth More (Present) and Paddy Stone (Yet to Come). Our favorite among the huge, predominantly British supporting cast is Sir Alec Guinness as a fussy, slightly effeminate Marley's Ghost. Best of all, Finney performs his many songs "live" and not lip-synched to a pre-recording. Though it is overproduced to the hilt, and its Technicolor photography tends to induce eyestrain, Scrooge is more than satisfactory Yuletide entertainment.
1. Christmas Carol, A
2. I Hate Christmas
3. No Better Life
4. Christmas Children
5. I Hate Christmas
6. Father Christmas
7. Make The Most Of This World
8. It's Not My Fault
9. December The Twenty-Fifth
10. Happiness
11. You...You
12. It's Not My Fault - (Reprise)
13. I Like Life
14. Entr'acte
15. Good Times
16. Beautiful Day
17. Minister's Cat
18. Better Life, A
19. Thank You Very Much
20. I'll Begin Again
21. Finale
22. Better Life, A - (bonus track)
23. I'll Begin Again - (bonus track)